Stumbled across this which I thought was interesting. I suspect a few guys here will be sympathetic to DistroTube's points.
If you want to cut to the rant, fast forward to 24 minutes.
This is an epic rant! Thanks for sharing.
I have some strong feelings too towards the subject, as I was a heavy Ubuntu user back in the day too:
- Using only snaps: flatpack and snap are great, but I try to use the conventional deb packages, if I can. They load faster.
- Gnome being garbage: I don't use the Gnome dekstop since they moved from Gnome 2. I moved to KDE and then to MATE. Zorin 16 is the first time I use a recent Gnome desktop, just because Zorin's custom layout just works and makes sense. I never liked the new way Gnome took, never will.
- FF being garbage: I don't know much about this. I use FF on a daily basis, maybe I'll switch over to Brave slowly.
- I don't like Ubuntu's from 10.04, since they changed the basic coloring and I absolutely hated Unity in all of it's forms, when they introduced it in 11.04. Shuttleworth wanted to brake into the big boys' game with Unity and then with Ubuntu Touch and failed pretty much, but somehow this abomination survived. Sorry for those, who like it, this is just me not liking it.
+1. I feel that Canonical just changes things for the sake of change but not because that change is actually makes sense or worth following it through. Sadly, Ubuntu is not that OS it was, when I joined. I remember I could use a live CD with 8.04 Hardy Heron installed, and I could literally save all data I had on my dying Samsung HDD, so it was love at first sight. Anyways, it is what it is, and now I have Zorin to fill the void Ubuntu left behind. 
3 Likes
Thanks for sharing this experience of yours with us.
I also had a similar experience since Canonical force fed us a Unity desktop. I moved to Xubuntu, Ubuntu Mate and Mint Mate before finally settled with Zorin 15.
3 Likes
Thanks for the pointer to skip to 24mins. I normally don't pay much attention to posted videos and this one is about 30 minutes long.
I have slathered my opinions of Canonical and Gnome all over this forum and the former ZorinGroup Forum (Now archived).
So, all I will say here is:
+1
4 Likes
It made me laugh in the video when the guy went to move a Gnome window but couldn't because every millimetre of the titlebar was covered in buttons and there was no way of grabbing it.
It got me thinking? What do I really use the minimal Gnome apps for -- well, virtually nothing. I use the File Manager and I may occasionally use the text editor as a copy and paste area, but that's about it. I use other tools for anything serious.
On the other side of the coin, I watched a video of the Linux Pine Phone running Ubuntu. I'm interested in seeing Linux run on a smartphone, but I'm not to sure Gnome will be successful without ending their place on the desktop. Simply comprising the desktop so it fits a mobile model will end up pleasing no one.
I'm on Gnome at the moment but I'm watching KDE with keen interest.
1 Like
I to, skipped to the 24 minute mark to hear the rant, more so because I wanted to hear the persons opinion.
In the last and recent thread on Gnome, I invited the Zorin brother's to the thread to hopefully provide us an answer, on weather or not they will be sticking with Gnome for the next release.
They are very busy mind you, so it may take awhile. But if they do provide an answer, I will be very interested in what they have to say. In truth, I am not liking everything that I am hearing that Gnome has been doing.
2 Likes
I'm actually trying to remain agnostic about Gnome, but the whole thing is darkly fascinating to me. It seems that is a niche for Zorin in fixing up Gnome. But Gnome are moving to lock things down. I wonder how this will all play out?
I hope for the next release that the so called LITE (or XFCE to the rest of us) will be released FIRST before Gnome. XFCE is of course superior to Gnome and not the other way around. In my opinion of course.
3 Likes
Agreed. XFCE is a Full desktop experience, unlike Gnome. No extensions to patch it, needed.
XFCE offers advanced settings - that work (cough cough fractional scaling, Gnome).
XFCE is as lightweight as LXDE, but offers much more.
I have my beef with the XFCE Devs, too. In fact we uhh... got into quite the verbal tussle last year... But even so, in fairness, I must lend my support to their efforts in maintaining an entire desktop environment.
I also like Cinnamon, though it is heavier than XFCE. Slightly more clunky than XFCE; it still has a fuller experience to offer.
Both, however, rely on GTK and GTK4 is a major problem for Nemo, Thunar and the rest.
They do have the option of sticking with GTK3 for a long time though and their track record suggests a higher probability of doing so.
5 Likes
Really? I would be very interested in what that was about.
I agree XFCE is very customizable and just works. It doesn't have that patched feeling that Gnome does. Plus I don't like Gnome telling us how thing are to be.
1 Like
The switch to CSD's in XFCE and Sean uhhh... being shall we say... a bit misleading about how it all went down. 
Ah I did find some of the discussion over at the forum at xfce
Reading it now.
Watched the video from start till the end and he made some valid points about ubuntu stucking with some apps, the ram usage, their faulty software center, snap packaged and about gnome. Also those 3 wallpapers where so ugly...
. Ubuntu did indeed release a buggy release.
Also i never heard about the browser brave but i sure want to try that one out.
1 Like
I agree with him 100% about the fact the devs getting their political feels into something. Make software, kernels, operating systems, DE's... and shut up about anything else NOT related to those things! This is why so much software and hardware has more problems and not worth anything because instead of working on the project at hand, they are distracted with non-code/programming junk! That is my rant! 
When I noticed how much Ubuntu and GNOME locks down their stuff, it should be a no brainer to call them out as non-FOSS and not following the Linux ideology. You can see they are loving the money M$ to probably giving them and following the same route as M$ as well as Big Corp and Big Government control. Before long, I can see it already happening, people wanting to make their own spin of a Linux distro with Ubuntu base will not be able to because they [Mega Corps] will demand money and ownership. Ubuntu will not be FOSS and will use that to start to destroy Linux ideals. I have seen how mega corps that have no limits because of the corrupt "justice" system is in bed with them as well, do that very thing. And it sucks.
I will end this on a funny note. He said GNOME gives him a headache and I happen to pause the video perfectly for that statement. lol
1 Like
It is already in the process: libAdwaita.
Gnome is proprietary not by avoiding the GPL, but by having a large source code that would take a large team of knowledgeable people to successfully fork.
The source code doesn't need to be closed in order to actually be "proprietary."
Brilliant Pause-catch. 
2 Likes
Absolutely correct.
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.